A Cinco de Mayo promotion by the Lake Elsinore Storm has upset City Council members, substance abuse counselors and an Inland Latino group for using the image of troubled actor Charlie Sheen in its "Charlie Sheen-co de Mayo" event.

The promotion includes $1 beers and sodas, "tiger blood" cocktails, two-for-one "Ho-Hos," a taco-eating contest, a "Sheen-co de Mayo bobblehead" and "Wild Thing" eyeglasses based on his character from the 1989 film "Major League." On its website, the minor league baseball team has a cartoon of a brown-skinned Sheen in a sombrero and says it has invited him to "a different kind of rehab."

More, including a promotional characterization of Sheen wearing a sombrero:

A Hispanic group isn't amused by a California minor league baseball team's Charlie Sheen spin on a Cinco de Mayo event, which includes "tiger-blood" cocktails.

The Lake Elsinore Storm's "Charlie Sheen-co de Mayo" night will also feature a taco-eating contest, Sheen-co de Mayo bobble heads and "Wild Thing" eyeglasses, based on his character in the 1989 movie "Major League.

The club's website features a brown-skinned caricature of Sheen and says it has invited the actor to "a different kind of rehab."

The promotion upset the Inland Empire Council of the League of United Latin American Citizens. Its president, Joe Olague, tells the Riverside Press-Enterprise it diminishes a significant day in Hispanic history.

Storm president David Oster says the intent isn't to hurt anyone but provide people with a good laugh.

And inevitable ass kissing moralizing by the editor at the Press Enterprise:

Quote:

Sheen strikeout

...Capitalizing on notorious misconduct is bad enough, but "Sheen-co de Mayo" night is also an affront to Latinos, women and the public generally. Tying such a sordid event to a prized Mexican holiday is an insult to Mexican-Americans. Likewise, avoiding slurs against women should be an obvious component of the team's marketing strategy...